


Shopping Shenanigans

by NotNyanSpaceKat7



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: My First AO3 Post, My First Work in This Fandom, Spencer Reid and Penelope Garcia are best friends, platonic shopping date
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:41:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26002816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NotNyanSpaceKat7/pseuds/NotNyanSpaceKat7
Summary: Penelope invites Spencer to go with her to a new mall on the weekend, and Spencer says yes.If there are any errors with this post, please notify me!!
Relationships: Derek Morgan/Spencer Reid, Penelope Garcia & Spencer Reid
Comments: 13
Kudos: 88





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is completely platonic! I do NOT ship them romantically!!

“Spencer, wait up!”

Reid looked up to see Garcia rushing to the elevator, and he held the door for her. He flashed her a smile as she thanked him.

“Do you have any plans this weekend?” Garcia asked, and Reid shook his head. “No, but I do have a book I need to finish before Sunday. Why do you ask?” the elevator stopped, and they both stepped out, making their way outside.

“Oh, I was just wondering if you’d like to come with me to the new mall down on East Street. It just opened a couple of days ago, and I wanted someone to go with, if that’s okay with you?”

Spencer thought. _I don’t really do shopping. But, she did go with me to that philosophy convention. I owe her._

“Yeah, I’ll go,” he said, “Tomorrow at twelve?”

Penelope threw her fist in the air with a “Yes!” and smiled up at him. “Absolutely, I’ll be there to pick you up on the dot! Thank you, boy wonder!” she said as they neared her car and Reid waved her goodbye as he continued down the sidewalk. Breathing in the warm August air, he smiled.

…

Spencer entered his apartment and sat his bag down beside the door. It was late, around ten or so. He flicked on the lights and plopped down on the couch, grabbing a book called Crime Or Clarity by Fiona Dewitt. It was a more simple read, but Spencer was enjoying it so far. He flipped to page 305 and continued where he left off.

_“It would not be every day that Steve Goodway would find himself wondering about his place on this earth. Everything he has accomplished, everything he’s fell short of. Is this really it? Or is there more, just beyond his reach? So, on this very day, he would promise himself that he would keep an open mind and an open heart to anything that calls his name through the brambles and nettle, and he would follow it even when the path doesn’t seem so inviting.”_

Tomorrow was going to be a good day.

…

Penelope Garcia awoke at 9:48 a.m. with a smile on her face and a happiness in her heart. She started her day with a warm shower and sweet coffee. After that, she messaged Spencer, asking if he was still up for the mall date. He replied three minutes and twenty-seven seconds later with a “Getting ready now. :)”, and she smiled even brighter.

Garcia couldn’t wait to explore all the new stores and see what kind of crazy cute outfit they had in stock. She couldn’t wait to show Reid all the wonderful wonders of shopping and hopefully find a nice outfit for him. She couldn’t wait to convince him to wear said outfit to the Bureau on Monday.

It was now 11:37 a.m. and Garcia couldn’t wait to pick Spencer up.

…

Spencer Reid waited patiently on the couch, dressed in his usual sweater vest and button-down shirt. It was one minute and fifty-seven seconds after twelve when Penelope knocked on his apartment door, and when he opened it, they greeted each other with smiles and started down the stairs to the first floor. Penelope wore a green floral dress and a jean jacket with a dozen pins and stickers on top. Her black mesh leggings went well with her sparkly black bow and heels. They chatted all the way to the car and kept chatting as they pulled out of the parking lot.

“So, how’d you sleep?” Garcia asked.

“Good, I read 393 pages of Crime Or Clarity before I fell asleep on the couch. You?”

“Like a baby. As soon as I got home, I poured myself a glass of wine and I was out after an hour.”

Spencer hummed. “You know, places like a mall are much more hectic during the weekends, especially near holidays. Why do you choose to go during this time rather than waiting for it to clear up?”

Garcia laughed. “I like people watching, it gives me inspiration and a sense of peace, knowing that those people are out living their lives despite all the nasties out there doing bad things.”

“Actually, statistics prove-”

“Hey, let me have this. That’s all I ask of you,” Penelope said. Spencer giggled at her, and she gave him a smug smile.

Before they arrived at the mall, Garcia suggested they stop for lunch after she noticed both of their stomachs were growling. They ordered sandwiches from the nearest deli and sat in the shade of the umbrella on the patio outside the shop. Afterwhile, it started to get crowded, so they took it as their cue to get going.

It was 1:13 p.m. when they finally found a parking space close to the entrance of the mall.

…

“Which store first?” Spencer shrugged, knowing very little about any and every shop in the building. He looked around and pointed to one that looked interesting. “What about that one?” he asked, and Garcia followed his eyes to the Way Out Thrift across the hall. She gasped and looked up at him. “You have great taste,” she said as she led him in.

This thrift store had _everything._

Spencer looked around, unsure where to start or even what to look for. Garcia immediately wandered to the clothes section, rummaging through racks of shirts and dresses. She noticed him standing there, so she waved him over and showed him a big beige sweater.

“What do you think?” she asked, holding it up against his chest to measure. He took it and examined the fabric.

“It’s nice, but this wool is coarse, which can irritate the skin. Finer wool would be better because fine wool sheep produce wool fibers with a very small fiber diameter, usually 20 microns or less.” he rambled on, giving Garcia time to find a light purple turtleneck.

“This one’s cotton, what about this one?” she asked, again measuring it on him before he felt it. “Cotton fabric is considered better, though some people disagree because of the pesticides. Some cotton is grown with genetically modified seeds and sprayed heavily with Roundup, in which the primary ingredient is glyphosate, which could lead to cancer. But I don’t think it’s that bad,” he said, “In fact, I really like the feel of it.”

Garcia smiled. “Good, because this thing is going in your closet!” she said, and Spencer blinked. “I’m paying for it, don’t even think about it,” he said and Penelope gave him a look. “My treat?” she tried to convince him, but he refused. She stuck out her bottom lip in a fake pout, which made them both laugh.

After a little more looking around, Penelope and Spencer went to check out. Garcia ended up with a pretty yellow shift dress that Reid suggested, and a small woodpecker figurine for her office. Reid stuck with the purple turtleneck and picked up an additional sweater vest for his collection. Garcia suggested that he try something out of his zone, and he said he’d think about it.

“Where to next?” Spencer asked as they wandered down the hall, passing tons of shoe shops. “Unless you want a new pair of kicks, maybe we could go up the escalator and see what they have up there,” Penelope joked.

“Escalator it is,” he giggled.

…

“Did you know there were thirty-seven deaths in 2014 in China caused by escalator accidents, and a report found that more than twenty-six thousand escalators had safety issues that hadn’t been repaired?”

“No. No, I didn’t know that,” Garcia said, shifting closer to Reid, “And I don’t think I needed to know.”

A couple of people looked at them suspiciously when he said that, and Spencer almost felt bad for saying it out loud. Almost.

Once they made it to the top, all the smells were like a smack in the face. There were multiple food courts, including a donut shop and an icee stand. There was the new car smell, along with some kind of strong fragrance, most likely from a perfume shop. Enough to give them both headaches.

“Jeez, it’s like aroma central up here,” Penelope remarked. Spencer nodded in agreement. There were way less clothing stores on the second floor, but there was one store that stuck out to Reid.

“What’s RetroWear?” he asked, pointing to the sign above the entrance.

Garcia hummed. “I’ve never heard of it, it must be a new store,” she said.

“Wow, a clothes store that you’ve never heard of? So rare.”

“Don’t start with me, genius,” Garcia warned with a smirk, “Let’s go check it out, I’m sure they have some absurd piece of luxury clothing in there somewhere!”

Before Spencer could react, Penelope grabbed his wrist and dragged him in.

And oh boy, did that store have _the good stuff._

Sweater vests here. Ties over there. Pretty floral dresses in between. And a whole section dedicated to Absurd Pieces Of Luxury Clothing.

“Oh. Em. Goodness,” Garcia whispered, “It’s like the shop gods just read my mind.”

Reid was also pretty impressed, and for the first time that day, he was the first to immediately begin looking at all the outfits. Garcia followed after him, showing him expensive Gucci purses and handbags she found while he presented to her a fuzzy orange sweater that he said would match her orange slice earrings. She gladly accepted it and gave him a nice pair of sunglasses in return.

After a bit of rummaging around in their sections, Penelope and Spencer decided that it was time that they go through the luxury clothes section. Spencer showed her a green and purple romper with plastic rhinestones lining the neck and sleeves, which made her laugh and kindly decline his offer to buy it for her. Next, she showed him a tiny crop top with a band logo on the back and a weed leaf on the front, claiming that it was definitely his style and that she was going to give it to him for his birthday.

But the best thing they found that day was Spencer’s secret bad boy look.

…

“Hurry up, smart boy! I wanna see that hot e-boy side of yours!”

Spencer sighed from inside the fitting room. “I don’t know, Penelope, it’s not really my style,” he said as he examined himself in the mirror, and Garcia scoffed. “That’s the whole point! Now get out here and let me see it.”

Finally, after 7 seconds of contemplating, Spencer unlocked the door and stepped out.

Garcia gasped.

He wore a red-and-black striped t-shirt and black skinny jeans with rips at the knees and a big leather jacket on top.

“Well?”

“I love it. I love you. I don’t care what you say, I’m buying that entire outfit for you and you cannot stop me.”

“Penelope, you don’t have to-”

“I want to. And I am. And you’re wearing that into work on Monday.”

“What- No, I can’t! Everyone’s gonna look at me like I’m crazy!”

“Then I’ll wear that ridiculous romper you showed me earlier to make us even.” Reid rolled his eyes. “You always wear that kind of stuff, they won’t notice,” he said, throwing in a “No offense” after she glared at him.

“Oh, everybody in that building knows I don’t do rompers. Trust me, they’ll notice,” she joked.

After a bit of convincing, Spencer let her buy the outfit for him, but he wouldn’t let her get the romper. He did, however, manage to pay her back with a fancy new pen to add to her collection.

…

It was now 4:46 p.m. and they were both exhausted. Garcia began to argue with herself about wearing heels around the mall of all places, and Reid’s legs, too, were getting tired. They decided to eat dinner in the food court since neither of them were ready to end the shopping date just yet.

“These tacos taste funny,” Spencer said, and Penelope shrugged. “Mine tastes fine. Did I order the wrong one? I’m so sorry if I did.”

Spencer smiled. “No, it’s fine. I just haven’t had tacos in a while.”

“That’s a sin. I have vegetarian tacos almost every Saturday.”

They both laughed, the sound ringing all throughout the mall. The smiles on their faces were like those of little kids on a playground, and they were living for it.

“Fun fact, most experts state that the first taco was actually invented somewhere between 1,000 and 500 B.C. At the time, the taco was more about having an edible spoon, however, the first recorded reference to the word taco came about in the 19th century. The first mention of the word taco in the United States didn’t come around until 1905.”

“How do you know these things?”

“Lots of history books. Or this brochure,” Spencer smiled, handing to Penelope the small foldable. She rolled her eyes with a playful smirk. “You’re very funny.”

“Thanks, I try my best.”

“Why don’t you ever joke like this at the bureau?”

Reid shrugged. “I guess it’s because I know that there’s someone in danger out there, and I just can’t bring myself to laugh it off like everyone else.”

Garcia averted her gaze. “Huh. I never thought about it that way.”

“N-not that it’s bad to joke around on the job, I know it helps some people and I’m not putting you down for it, It’s just—different with me I think.”

“Oh, I get that. I do it for the same reason I decorate my desk, it helps me cope with all the horrible things we see on the daily.”

There was a moment of silence, until Spencer spoke again, “How did we end up talking about this?”

Penelope laughed, and suddenly everything was back to sunshine and rainbows. “You mentioned the history of a taco.”

...

Soon, it started to get late. Reid and Garcia had stopped by her place for a couple of hours to watch a movie and finish off the wine that she bought out of impulse last Friday. It was 7:56 p.m. when Garcia dropped Reid off at his apartment, and she gave him a friendly hug before saying goodbye.

“Oh, and, Spencer?”

“Hm?”

Garcia smiled. “You don’t have to pretend that you don’t like the outfit. I know that look when I see it, and I can tell that you’re secretly excited to wear it on Monday.”

Reid felt a light blush settle across his face. “Thanks, Penelope.”

“No problemo, genius boy.”

And with that, Spencer entered his apartment and sat his bag down beside the door. He flicked on the lights and plopped down on the couch, grabbing Crime Or Clarity by Fiona Dewitt off the coffee table. He flipped to page 698 and continued where he left off. _“Goodway would smile wide, wider than he has in a very long time. He would realize then that he doesn’t need this world, and this world doesn’t need him, as long as he has his good friend Mick. Mick, who cares for him, who enjoys his company, and who will go to the ends of the wretched world to be there for him.”_ And that night, Spencer Reid also realized that. And he did indeed smile wider than he has in a long while.


	2. Follow-up :)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Since you kiddos wanted it, here's the follow-up on Reid and Garcia's adventure! Let's see what the others have to say about it 👀

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wrote this at 4 a.m. and I'm too tired to edit it and I'm pretty sure there are some mistakes in there and it's super out of character but do I care? No! :D

“Reid, my office. Please.”

Spencer looked back down at his desk as Hotch walked off, feeling his face flush. _I knew this was a bad idea._

He shot a glance to Garcia, who was chatting it up with Morgan and JJ (who noticed Reid’s outfit and took a wild guess) before overhearing Hotch. The three turned to look at him, Morgan stifling a laugh and JJ putting a hand over her mouth (“Uh-oh, someone’s in trouble..”).

Garcia shrugged at him from the other side of the room, and he could tell she was laughing on the inside. He rolled his eyes. _“I will obliterate you,”_ he mouthed, and she finally caved and started cackling as he stood, hastily making his way to Hotch’s office.

The door was open, but he gave a small knock anyway. “Come in, Reid,” Hotch’s voice sounded from within.

Spencer stepped awkwardly into the room, gesturing to the door as a silent _“Should I close it?”_. The man nodded, and he clicked it shut.

“Take a seat.”

Reid pulled out the chair in front of Hotch’s desk, doing as told. He clasped his cold bony hands together, waiting for the _“What the hell are you wearing?”_ or _“You do know those clothes aren’t very professional, yes?”_

But instead, Hotch simply began filling out his papers and said, “If you happen to know where my pen is, I’d like for you to tell me.”

Reid blinked. “Your pen? You’re using a pen right now.”

“No, the pen I always use. This one is a replacement, I’m pretty sure one of the others took it for your ‘prank war’ and I would like to have it back. I’ve already asked Morgan and Prentiss, but they won’t give me a direct answer.”

“I-I mean, I could ask around-”

“Yes, that’d be great. Thank you,” Hotch said, eyes not moving from his papers. Spencer opened his mouth to say something but then closed it.

He sat there for a moment, then asked, “Was.. was that it?”

Hotch looked up at him. “Yes, you can go back to your desk now,” he said, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. Reid nodded, motioning to leave.

As he opened the door, Hotch called after him.

“Nice outfit, suits you,” he said with a straight face, going back to his papers.

Spencer squeaked a _“Thank you”_ and promptly returned to his desk. Garcia popped up from behind.

“What happened? What did he say? Are you in trouble??” She asked all in one breath, and the genius scoffed. “No, I’m not, and all he wanted was to know if I had seen his pen anywhere.”

“So, no comment on the fit? At all?”

“He did say it was nice, yes.”

Garcia smiled. “So.. does this mean you’ll be wearing it more often?”

Spencer looked at her, giving a sigh.

“I’ll think about it.”

***After notes***

  * The first person to notice the new fit was Morgan, and he was obviously shocked. There was also a bit of blushing and _‘hotdamnprettyboy’_ going on behind his _‘lmao you look like an eboy’_ comments. He was into it, in all honesty. ;)
  * Prentiss and JJ noticed at the same time, and they were all for it. And when I say all for it, I mean **_all for it._** Prentiss said something on the lines of “If I weren’t a lesbian I would 100% snag your number”. JJ was too busy calling him adorable to say anything else. They both approved.
  * “Wow, did you join a boyband over the weekend? Oh wait, you’re already in one, sorry.” -David Rossi. He thought it was the funniest shit he’s seen this year.
  * Hotch knows that Garcia was behind it, and he’s proud of Reid for actually wearing it. Finally, the kid’s gaining a bit of confidence!
  * Garcia literally squealed when she saw Spencer in the outfit, and she was wearing the yellow shift dress he suggested, along with a pink headband and matching heels.
  * Everyone figured it out eventually, either by guessing or hearing it from the rest of the team. Anyway, no one really judged besides a few distant agents and Morgan, who of course didn’t mean anything he said, and Spencer knew that. To be honest, he was kinda flattered by Morgan’s noticing, if you catch my drift. Hinthintwinkwink. ;)))
  * Yes, I ship Derek and Spence fight me-
  * Tl;dr Everyone liked the fit and Spencer couldn’t stop blushing all day.




End file.
